Company Girl Coffee on Saturday

Good morning! Come on in and grab a cup of coffee. Yesterday I found myself without coffee. In fact, my cupboards and fridge were quite bare! I ended up making a very long grocery list and heading for the store yesterday afternoon when my DH got home. I was very proud of myself because I was very organized and took advantage of the sale going on at our local grocery store. The deal was if you bought $30 in certain products, you would get back $15 in coupons towards your next shopping order. So I separated out my list and made three different transactions. The $15 I got back on the first one went towards the second one (which I only paid $8 for after coupons) and then the $15 I got back on the second one went towards the third transaction. There was a girl behind me in line that was asking all kinds of questions because she had just started using coupons and wanted to know how I was saving so much money. I love catalinas! The trick is to be prepared (know what products are included in the deal) before you go to the store and then stick to your list!

It's quiet here this morning. The kiddos are sleeping in. Before very long, Saturdays will be the only day that they can do that! I can't believe there are less than three weeks before school starts. We're headed out for vacation on Monday so what's left of summer will slip by quickly. Sadly, we have to leave their daddy behind because he doesn't have enough vacation stored up yet to go with us. We're going camping as a family Labor Day weekend though, so that will be fun.

I've been reading a book lately that I just can't seem to put down. It's called "Three Cups of Tea." I highly recommend it! My mom read it and then gave me a copy. Once I finally picked it up and started reading, I couldn't believe I waited that long.

Here's a review from the web site:

In Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time , Greg Mortenson, and journalist David Oliver Relin, recount the journey that led Mortenson from a failed 1993 attempt to climb Pakistan’s K2, the world’s second highest mountain, to successfully establish schools in some of the most remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. By replacing guns with pencils, rhetoric with reading, Mortenson combines his unique background with his intimate knowledge of the third-world to promote peace with books, not bombs, and successfully bring education and hope to remote communities in central Asia. Three Cups of Tea is at once an unforgettable adventure and the inspiring true story of how one man really is changing the world—one school at a time.

If you go to the Three Cups of Tea Web site and purchase the book there, 7 percent of your purchase will go toward a girls' education scholarship fund in Pakistan and Afghanistan. If you haven't already read it, I would encourage you to check it out yourself!

Well, the kiddos are finally stirring so I better get some breakfast started. I'm glad I could share coffee with you. Thanks for stopping by!

Siesta Scripture Memory Verse 8.1.09

I've been thinking a lot lately about God as my Rock. This image and verse were so generously provided by Rachel Anne over at Home Sanctuary last month. She had a wonderful devotion to go along with the verse.

Her thoughts struck me so deep that I decided to choose Isaiah 51:1 as my memory verse for the first half of August. As I commit this verse to memory, my focus and emphasis will be on these words "Look to the Rock..."

I'm sure it's no coincidence that Rachel Anne posted this verse right before I was praying about what verse to memorize this time around. God is showing me exactly what it means to me that He is "my Rock and my Fortress" (see 7.15 memory verse). I am glad that He uses others along the way to do so.

Thank you Rachel Anne, for sharing your heart!

Does God Sleep?

Isaiah 40:28-29
"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak."

I asked my boys this morning if they thought that God sleeps. It was very interesting to hear their opposite responses.

BC said "No. 'Cause God doesn't get tired, and He has a lot to do."

JS said "Yes. Because God does all kinds of stuff all over the world and He needs to rest."

I don't know about sleep, but I think they are both right in a way. God doesn't get tired, but He does take time to rest.

"Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done." -Genesis 2:1-3

Around the House and Close to My Heart

This week over coffee Rachel Anne asked what projects we have going on around the house. Not too much happening here, accept that we need to replace our utility sink. Last week I realized there was a clog, and when my DH took it apart to fix it, we realized that there was some decay going on both with the pipe, and the drain hole in the sink. Time for a new sink! It looks like we're going to get one for a steal at $20 but we have to buy the faucet. DH will work on that tomorrow, but until then, he's fixed the washer hose to the drain pipe so I can still do laundry! Boy was I relieved to know I wasn't going to get too far behind on that!

Other than that, this last week was Kids' Camp at our Church. It was M-W. My older two got to camp out on church grounds and have lots of fun learning and playing games. It was their first time away from home over night without either mom or dad. They did great.

The theme was "Sticky Faith...Letting Jesus stick to you." When I picked up the kids on Wednesday they had all kinds of fun things to tell me, but one thing really blessed my heart.

My 7 yr old asked Christ into his heart during camp! I knew he was close. He's been talking about Jesus like they're best buds lately. I wish I could have been there for the moment, but I get to stick around for a lifetime to watch him grow in Christ. :) That's him, just a bit tired after we got home from camp.










My youngest kids camped out here at home. We played games and swam in the back yard. We even built a special tent in the boys' bedroom where it was nice and cool for them to sleep. All in all, it was a great time. We were all glad to have JS and RL back home on Wednesday.

Yesterday was my 15th Anniversary. (Scroll down to previous post to read my thoughts.) I made him his favorite dinner and then blessed him with a massage. He's blessing me by working on his "honey-please-do" list. :) This morning he vacuumed the coils on the back of the fridge. That was a HUGE item marked off my list!

The weather is reaching the 100degree mark here now. Too hot for me. I try to stay in doors as much as possible. The kiddos are using the pool lots. It was well worth the purchase. I think probably next year we'll have to upgrade in size though. They are my little fishes! :)

Well, have a great weekend all! I'm going back to work here around the house.

We are in love! (15 years and counting!)

Today is my 15th anniversary! I can hardly believe it! It seems like just yesterday that I was walking down that wedding isle. We had an afternoon wedding, and it is as hot today as I remember it being 15 years ago!

Sorry to get up close and personal with the photo of us, but my husband is not a camera man. When I asked him if it was ok to take a picture of us for my blog, this is what I got! That's one of the many things I love about him though. He can make me laugh, no matter what the occasion. the song playing in the backround was the song that we walked out to after we were pronounced man and wife. :)

Actually, today is just like any other day of the year. It's Thursday, and the kids and I greeted him this morning and happily sent him off to work with hugs and kisses. There are no bells and whistles going off, and we don't have any special romantic plans for the evening. I simply gave him a squeeze, told him I loved him, and was looking forward to seeing him when he got home. We don't have a lot of extra money right now, so a massage by candle-light after the kids go to bed will be my gift to him.

But isn't that what marriage is all about? It's about serving your spouse in ways that make them feel loved. A romantic touch, an e-mail, a phone call during the day to say "I'm thinking of you." Perhaps it's a listening ear when they need one, or a sympathetic nod to indicate that you feel bad they had a rough day. I prefer to celebrate our marriage with the little things that happen every day. I don't need some fancy restaurant and a movie to make this day special.

Thank you for loving me for 15 years dear! You make me a better person and I look forward to the next 15 years of our lives together. :)

Please Pray

I'm praying for this little guy this morning. He is weary and so is his mom. He suffers from Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT), which keeps him in the hospital on 24 hour watch. The strength of this family amazes me for what they have been through, but they sure could use all the prayers they can get right now! The little guy miraculously got to spend some time at home with his family and I am praying that will happen again!

Won't you pray with me?

Ephesians 6:18 "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

Our Week in Review

We celebrated the last of our July Birthdays last week. Summer brings a parade of Birthdays starting on June 10th and ending July 21st. 4 birthdays, just in our immediate family. If you count the Aunt, Uncle, Great Grandmother, and friends of the family, well, you get the picture! It's a whole lot of birthday cake!!! That's enough sweets to last me until Thanksgiving! (Which, incidentally, is around the time that we begin the rest of our birthday celebrations!)

In other news, BC lost his first tooth on Thursday! He was so excited. Wednesday he came to me and exclaimed "My tooth is loose, my tooth is loose!" He wanted it to fall out right then. I told him to be patient and let it come out when it was ready. He went back to swimming, and a few minutes later he came to me and said "Mommy, I don't think I should swim anymore because of my loose tooth." I smiled big and told him it was ok to swim with a loose tooth, but he had already made up his mind. I think he was afraid it would fall out in the water never to be found again!

The next day I could hear him shouting clear on the other side of the house "My tooth fell out!!!!" We immediately put the tooth in a baggy for safekeeping until that night. He wanted to keep it under his pillow but since the boys were "camping out" in their bedroom on the floor that night I told him that it would probably be safer on the book shelf next to him. He was very happy the next morning to find 4 shiny quarters in its place! :)

While BC was busy losing his first tooth, RL decided to come down with a stomach virus. She woke up sick Thursday morning and continued to throw up well into the afternoon. She seemed to be feeling better for a while, but that evening she started up again. Since she has a past history of getting dehydrated when sick, I decided to see how the night went, but call the doctor in the morning.

I woke up at 5:30am Friday to RL still sick. At 8:00am I called the Dr. and made the appointment. The soonest they could see her was 11:00am. It was not good news. The Dr. sent us to the ER with hopes that they could put her on an IV there and rehydrate her. After 4 tries to get an IV in (OUCH...my little girl was so brave) they took a "break" and brought in the best nurse they had to do the job. They finally got a drip going and we waited for the blood test results to come back.

More bad news settled in when the ER Dr. said that he didn't think that a few hours on an IV was going to do it. He wanted to admit her to the hospital over night. This would be my third stay with her in the hospital due to dehydration. I waited until we were settled in her room and called her dad to tell him the news.

I was impressed and rather relieved at how quickly the Children's Hospital Dr. came to see us in her room. After going over RL's history, she talked with me about a theory that hasn't come up in past visits. (Both of the other times were at a different hospital.) She said that since RL's blood sugar has been low with each incident that we should look into seeing an Endocrinologist. She even called the specialist for me and they agreed that RL needs to be seen.

I stayed the night with RL at the hospital and by morning she was rehydrated and eating again. Yesterday around 1:00pm we arrived home. Tired, but happy to be here. Tomorrow I will call and make an appointment with the specialist. I hope to find some answers as to why she gets dehydrated so quickly. For now though, I am just glad to see my baby girl smiling again.

Well, that's the news for now! I am taking a recovery day today. Recover our health, recover the house! That way I'll be ready to face the new week set before me. :)